The Irish Farmers Association is pledging to continue its sit-in protest at the offices of the European Commission in Dublin, until EU leaders agree not to impose cuts on CAP payments. 

The Common Agricultural Policy budget is just one of the items up for discussion later, when EU leaders meet for an EU Summit in Brussels. 

It's proposed that CAP payments could be cut by as much as €200 million  next year - a move which the IFA says will have a detrimental impact on the agricultural industry in Ireland. 

IFA Deputy President, Eddie Downey says a reduction in the budget could also impact on consumers:

"€1.6 billion comes into this country from the CAP budget and thats crucially important important to the farmers of Ireland and the communities of rural Ireland.

There are 7 billion people in the world to be fed now and Irish farmers produce enough food for 25 million of thoase and in that sense we're crucially important."